Of course there are times when I don’t much feel like cooking. It can be a chore, but I have found there are a few things that get my creative juices flowing (so to speak) and make it feel fun again:

• Chopping is one of those menial tasks that are delegated in ‘proper kitchens’, but can be one of the most fun parts, but only if you get a proper knife and a proper chopping board. It only sank in properly how important this is when I had to use a shit serrated knife on holiday and realised how much I missed my knife (does that make me sound like a psycho?)
• Learn how to sharpen your knife. Not only does it make everything more fun (see above) but the actual sharpening makes you feel like a real cook
• Use quality cookware. It can be expensive stuff, but it’s brilliant. You might want to get married and put it on your wedding gift list
• Use quality ingredients – if you know the butcher you bought the meat from and you know the quality of the stuff you’re using, you’re far more likely to take care with the cooking of it
• Have seasoning to hand – having proper salt on hand to pinch, a big black pepper mill and so forth make the finishing touches fun – which means you’ll do them – which means your food will taste better. Everyone’s a winner

Picture credit: noii on Flickr